Dutch self-employed shut businesses ahead of stricter rules
Dutch self-employed shut businesses ahead of stricter rules

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A little over 21,000 self-employed persons in the Netherlands closed down their businesses in December, a 54% increase compared to a year earlier, reports NL Times, citing the Dutch Chamber of Commerce (KVK). The KVK suspects the law against fake self-employment, which took effect on 1 January is behind the spike in closures. While the law has already taken effect, there will be a transitional period of one year (until 31 December 2025) in which employers and employees will not receive a fine if they can prove that they are taking steps against bogus self-employment. More details on the law were covered by SIA’s Europe Legal Update Q3 2024.
According to the KVK, December’s figures showed that this was the first time more freelancers quit than started. Over 14,000 people registered as self-employed in December, a decrease of 13% over the prior month. The total number of self-employed people did still grow compared to December 2023, but the increase was much weaker than in previous months. On December 31, there were 1.7 million self-employed persons registered in the Netherlands, 3.1% more than the same day in 2023.
“It is important to keep calm together in this tight labour market,” Marion van Happen, CEO of HeadFirst Group, told the NL Times. “Organisations must get their processes in order, enter into discussions with freelancers, and realize that after 1 January 2025, it will still be possible to hire self-employed people for assignments in an effective and responsible manner.”